Help in Halifax

Help is close to home

Centrally located in Halifax, the Nova Scotia Early Psychosis Program (NSEPP) provides services to young people and their families living in HRM. Anyone can refer to us—just speak to your mental health care professional, family physician or school counselor. You can even refer yourself or a family member suffering from a first episode of psychosis—just call 902-473-2976.

Eligibility

To qualify for treatment through the NSEPP, a candidate must:

• be between the ages of 15-35
• be experiencing a first episode of psychosis
• have been treated for less than 6 months with an anti-psychotic medication
• have had active, untreated psychosis for less than one year at the time of referral

What to expect after referral

Our intake coordinator will usually contact the referrer within 1-2 working days after we receive the referral. After they’ve obtained all relevant information, the intake coordinator will present it to the NSEPP multidisciplinary team at their weekly meeting, where they will decide on the level of urgency and if the person being referred meets the criteria for the NSEPP program.

If the referral meets the criteria, we’ll contact the individual or designated family member to provide the date of the assessment appointment and, after the assessment, we’ll notify them of the outcome. We aim to assess individuals within 1-2 weeks. Whenever possible, we assess urgent referrals within 1-2 working days.

If the individual you’ve referred doesn’t meet the criteria for the program, our intake coordinator will contact the referrer to provide information regarding referral to other appropriate mental health services.